Parliament concerned over Mkhwebane's public comments

Cape Town - Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services says it will be meeting with Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on Tuesday.

The committee's chairperson Dr Mthole Motshekga said the committee was concerned about public comments that she made.

The fact that the committee had not received Mkhwebane's report on the Vrede Dairy Farm project was also a concern.

“I have since been inundated with calls as to when the committee will deal with this matter. The committee can finally confirm that the meeting has been set down for 06 March 2018 to engage Adv Mkhwebane on these matters. We take such matters seriously and we are aware of the great public interest in the matter,” said Motshekga.

The report was released last month, and it was widely criticised for not digging deeper into the Gupta family's involvement in the dairy farm project.

The Vrede Dairy Farm project was meant to uplift struggling farmers and was allocated over R200 million, but the money was milked by the Guptas.

Mkhwebane's report recommend that Free State Premier Ace Magashule should institute disciplinary action against those officials who were involved, but the report did not mention the Guptas.

The Public Protector said she was not able to do proper investigations into all allegations as she did not have enough resources.

She is likely to face questions pertaining to the report.

But Mkhwebane is likely to also face tough questions on her CIEX report which was set aside by the High Court last month.

“We have further noted with grave concern allegations of her office suppressing some evidence. This type of allegation tarnishes the good image of the office of the Public Protector," said Motshekga.